JP3684776B2 - Obstacle recognition device for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle obstacle recognition device that irradiates a transmission wave within a predetermined angle range in each of a vehicle width direction and a height direction and recognizes an obstacle around the vehicle based on the reflected wave.
[0002]
[Background Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention]
Conventionally, a vehicle obstacle recognition device that recognizes an obstacle around the vehicle by irradiating a transmission wave such as a light wave or a millimeter wave over a predetermined angle around the vehicle and detecting the reflected wave is considered. It has been. This type of device is applied, for example, to a device that detects an obstacle such as a preceding vehicle and generates an alarm, or a device that controls the vehicle speed so as to maintain a predetermined distance from the preceding vehicle. Those that recognize obstacles such as are considered.
[0003]
In such obstacle recognition, it is required to properly recognize the preceding vehicle necessary for the above-described alarm generation and vehicle speed control, and conversely, roadside objects that are not necessary for the alarm generation and vehicle speed control, etc. It is important not to accidentally recognize the vehicle as a preceding vehicle. For this reason, in the past, attention was paid to the fact that the roadside object is a stop object and that it does not exist on the own lane, and the roadside object is recognized separately from the preceding vehicle. In other words, if it can be determined that the vehicle is a stop based on the change in the relative position of the detected obstacle, and if it can be determined that the vehicle is present on a road other than the own lane based on the position of the obstacle in the vehicle width direction, The possibility is high.
[0004]
However, there are situations in which it is difficult to distinguish roadside objects from preceding vehicles under various circumstances. For example, when the host vehicle enters a curve from a straight road, a road sign as a roadside object may be detected as a forward stop vehicle. Further, the road may not only change in the vehicle width direction as in the curve described above, but also change in the height direction as in a slope. Therefore, for example, when the host vehicle is traveling in front of the downhill or near the exit of the uphill, an upper signboard or sign that is not detected on a flat road is detected in front of the host vehicle. In addition, when the vehicle is traveling in front of the uphill or near the exit of the downhill, the road itself, the white line on the road, etc. An existing situation arises. In other words, the conventional device is configured to irradiate a transmission wave over a predetermined angle in the vehicle width direction, and is fixed at a predetermined height in order to catch the preceding vehicle in the height direction. However, the signs and white lines on the road are not subject to recognition.
[0005]
In such a situation, roads, white lines, and the like always appear to be present at a certain distance in front of the vehicle, and may be detected as a traveling vehicle ahead. Further, an installation on the road such as an upper sign or a cat's eye may be detected as a front stop vehicle. In other words, the essence in the technique of two-dimensionally recognizing an obstacle in a two-dimensional manner relative to the vehicle width direction and the vehicle length direction (front-rear direction of the vehicle) by one-dimensional scanning in which a transmission wave is irradiated over a predetermined angle in the vehicle width direction. It is a limit.
[0006]
Accordingly, the present invention presupposes a vehicle obstacle recognition device of a type that recognizes an obstacle in a three-dimensional manner, and accurately distinguishes an obstacle that is not a vehicle by using the fact that it can also be recognized in the height direction. Another object of the present invention is to provide an obstacle recognition device that can be recognized separately.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention of claim 1 made to achieve the above object is
(1) A radar that irradiates a transmission wave within a predetermined angle range in each of the vehicle width direction and the height direction, and detects the distance to the reflecting object and two angles of the vehicle width direction and the height direction based on the reflected wave A vehicle obstacle recognition device comprising: a means for recognizing an obstacle around the vehicle based on a distance and an angle in two directions as detection results by the radar means;
(2) The recognition means is
(2a) Obstacle height detection means for detecting at least a position in the height direction of the obstacle based on a distance and an angle in two directions as detection results by the radar means;
(2b) If the position in the height direction detected by the obstacle height detecting means exists at least once within a predetermined time in an area that cannot be taken by a normal vehicle, it is determined that the obstacle is not a vehicle. Non-vehicle judging means based on
It is characterized by having.
[0008]
According to the vehicle obstacle recognition device of the first aspect, when the recognition means recognizes the obstacle around the vehicle, the non-vehicle is distinguished and recognized as follows. In other words, the obstacle height detection means detects the position of the obstacle in the height direction, and the non-vehicle determination means based on the height is in a region where the height direction position cannot be taken by a normal vehicle for a predetermined time. If the obstacle is present at least once, it is determined that the obstacle is not a vehicle.
[0009]
Since the radar means in the present invention can detect the distance to the reflecting object and the two angles in the vehicle width direction and the height direction, the relative position of the obstacle is determined in the vehicle width direction, the vehicle length direction (the vehicle longitudinal direction). ) And three-dimensional data in the height direction. Therefore, non-vehicles are identified and recognized based on the height direction position, but as described above, the height direction position exists at least once in a predetermined time in an area that cannot be taken by a normal vehicle. If it is not a vehicle.
[0010]
Here, as the “region in which the position in the height direction cannot be taken by a normal vehicle”, for example, a region higher than 4 m and a region that is substantially 0 m can be considered. This is because the transmitted wave from the radar means is reflected on the body of the vehicle and the obstacle is recognized based on the reflected wave, so the vehicle height of a large truck or semi-trailer is about 3.8 m. Based on the recognition that the lower end of the vehicle body part is at least several centimeters or more away from the ground, it can be determined that the obstacle recognized in the above-mentioned region higher than 4 m and the region that is almost 0 m is not a vehicle.
[0011]
However, when the vehicle is traveling in front of the downhill or near the exit of the uphill, an upper signboard or sign that is not detected on a flat road is detected in front of the vehicle. Originally, there is a possibility that a signboard, a sign, or the like existing in “an area higher than 4 m”, which is a specific example of the above-described exclusion condition, is erroneously recognized. In a situation where the front is further curved in addition to the situation of the slope, there is a possibility that a signboard, a sign or the like existing in the “region higher than 4 m” may be erroneously recognized. In addition, when the vehicle is traveling in front of the uphill or near the exit of the downhill, the road itself or a white line on the road, or the installation on the road such as the so-called cat's eye is present in the front. A situation occurs. In this situation, there is a possibility that a white line or the like on the road existing in “an area of approximately 0 m”, which is a specific example of the above-described exclusion condition, may be erroneously recognized.
[0012]
As a device for avoiding such misrecognition, as described above, if the position in the height direction exists at least once within a predetermined time in a region that cannot be taken by a normal vehicle, it is determined that the vehicle is not a vehicle. It is. In other words, the instantaneous value of the height direction position may belong to a region that can be taken by a normal vehicle (vehicle presence region). However, as described above, such a misrecognition state occurs when the slope entrance / exit occurs. This is the case when the car is running. Therefore, an obstacle that originally belongs to an area of approximately 0 m or higher than 4 m is more likely to be recognized at its original height at least once within a predetermined time. Can be distinguished. Note that the predetermined time in this case may be set as appropriate, but it is not determined after grasping all the recognition situations within the predetermined time. For example, when the vehicle belongs to the vehicle existence area at a certain recognition time point, Judge how it was at the recognition time one second ago, and if it belongs to the vehicle existence area even at the recognition time one second before, determine how it was at the recognition time two seconds ago, etc. You may make it refer back to the past recognition condition.
[0013]
As described above, the conventional method of recognizing an obstacle two-dimensionally, that is, a relative position in the vehicle width direction and the vehicle length direction (the vehicle front-rear direction), has been described above because of the inherent limitation due to the two-dimensional recognition. Although it was not possible to distinguish and recognize non-vehicles in the situation, this vehicle obstacle recognition device uses the point that obstacles can also be recognized in the height direction, and based only on instantaneous values Instead of being based on the recognition status within a predetermined period, obstacles that are not vehicles can be accurately distinguished and recognized.
[0020]
By the way, in the description so far, the condition for recognizing the vehicle as a non-vehicle is not limited to being a “stop object”. This is because it is possible to recognize a non-vehicle based on the height direction position and shape of the object described above without determining whether or not the object is a stop. However, in the case of a non-vehicle, in most cases, it is recognized as a stopped object. Therefore, the non-vehicle determination is performed based on the above-mentioned position and shape of the object in the height direction and also based on the condition that the object is a stopped object. It may be. By doing so, there is no possibility of determining a traveling vehicle that is a moving object as a non-vehicle at an entrance of a slope or the like.
[0021]
In this case, in the above-described vehicle obstacle recognition apparatus, the recognition means further includes a determination means for detecting whether the obstacle is moving and determining whether the obstacle is a moving object or not. Only when the vehicle judging means or the non-vehicle judging means based on the shape is judged that the obstacle is a stop, the non-vehicle judging process based on the height or the non-vehicle judging process based on the shape May be configured to execute.
[0022]
In this way, it is first determined whether or not the vehicle is a stopped object, and the non-vehicle determination based on the position and shape of the object in the height direction is performed on the object that is determined to be a stopped object. There is no possibility that the vehicle is determined to be a non-vehicle.
[0023]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, a vehicle control device 1 to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. The vehicle control device 1 is a device that is mounted on an automobile and outputs an alarm when an obstacle is present in a region to be alarmed in a predetermined situation, or controls the vehicle speed according to a preceding vehicle.
[0024]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the system. The vehicle control device 1 is configured around a computer 3. The computer 3 mainly includes a microcomputer and includes an input / output interface (I / O) and various drive circuits and detection circuits. Since these hardware configurations are general, detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0025]
The computer 3 inputs predetermined detection data from a distance / two-direction measuring device 5, a vehicle speed sensor 7, a brake switch 9, and a throttle opening sensor 11 as an obstacle detection device for a preceding vehicle. Here, the distance / two-direction measuring device 5 includes a transmission / reception unit 31 and a distance / angle calculation unit 33, and the transmission / reception unit 31 emits laser light forward of a preceding vehicle around a predetermined optical axis (center axis). In the time until the reflected light is detected by the distance / angle calculation unit 33 while the sweep light is discontinuously scanned and output within a predetermined angle range in the width direction and the height direction, and the reflected light is detected. This is a device that detects a distance r to a front object. The laser beam is scanned two-dimensionally in this way, and the scanning pattern will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the emitted laser beam pattern 82 is shown only when emitted from the right end and the left end in the measurement area 81, and is omitted in the middle. In addition, the emitted laser beam pattern 82 is shown as a substantially circular shape as an example in FIG. 3, but is not limited to this shape, and may be an elliptical shape, a rectangular shape, or the like. Furthermore, in addition to those using laser light, radio waves such as microwaves or ultrasonic waves may be used. Moreover, it is not necessary to stick to the scanning method, and any method that can measure two directions other than the distance may be used.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 3, when the central direction of the measurement area is the Z axis, predetermined areas in the XY plane perpendicular to the measurement area are sequentially scanned. In the present embodiment, the Y axis that is the height direction is the reference direction, the X axis that is the vehicle width direction is the scanning direction, and the scan area is 0.15 deg × 105 points = 16 deg in the X axis direction. In the direction, 0.7 deg × 6 lines = 4 deg. The scanning direction is from left to right in FIG. 3 for the X-axis direction, and from top to bottom in FIG. 3 for the Y-axis direction. Specifically, first, the first scanning line located at the top when viewed in the Y-axis direction is scanned in the X-axis direction. Since one scan line is detected in this way, the second scan line at the next position viewed in the Y-axis direction is similarly scanned in the X-axis direction. In this way, the same scanning is repeated up to the sixth scanning line. Therefore, scanning is performed in order from the upper left to the lower right, and data for 105 points × 6 lines = 630 points is obtained. Here, it is assumed that the fourth scanning line is horizontal.
[0027]
The data obtained by the distance / angle calculation unit 33 is composed of the scan angles θx and θy indicating the scanning direction and the measured distance r. The two scan angles θx and θy are the vertical scan angle θy that is the angle between the emitted laser beam and the XZ plane, and the angle between the Z-axis and the line that is the projected laser beam projected on the XZ plane. It is defined as an angle θx.
[0028]
Further, the computer 3 outputs predetermined drive signals to the alarm sound generator 13, the distance indicator 15, the sensor abnormality indicator 17, the brake driver 19, the throttle driver 21, and the automatic transmission controller 23.
The computer 3 further includes an alarm volume setting unit 24 for setting an alarm volume, an alarm sensitivity setting unit 25 for setting sensitivity in an alarm determination process described later, a cruise control switch 26, and a steering sensor 27 for detecting an operation amount of a steering wheel (not shown). And a yaw rate sensor 28. Further, the computer 3 includes a power switch 29, and starts predetermined processing when the power switch 29 is turned on.
With this configuration, the computer 3 performs an alarm determination process for alarming when an obstacle exists in a predetermined alarm area for a predetermined time. Examples of the obstacle include a front vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle, a front vehicle that is stopped, or an object on the roadside (a guard rail, a pillar object, or the like). The computer 3 also performs so-called cruise control that controls the vehicle speed according to the situation of the preceding vehicle by outputting drive signals to the brake driver 19, the throttle driver 21 and the automatic transmission controller 23. ing.
[0029]
FIG. 2 shows a control block diagram of the computer 3. The data of the distance r output from the distance / angle calculation unit 33 of the distance / two-direction measuring device 5 and the two-direction scan angles θx, θy is obtained by using the coordinate conversion block 41 between polar coordinates and orthogonal coordinates as the origin ( 0,0,0) are converted into XYZ orthogonal coordinates. If the value of the conversion result indicates an abnormal range by the sensor abnormality detection block 44, a display to that effect is displayed on the sensor abnormality indicator 17.
[0030]
The XYZ orthogonal coordinate data converted by the coordinate conversion block 41 is output to the object recognition block 43, where the recognition type, the center position coordinates (X, Y, Z) of the object, and the size of the object. (W, D, H), the shape information of the object is obtained. The recognition type recognizes whether the object is a stopped object or a moving object based on the vehicle speed V and the following relative speed. An object that affects traveling is selected based on the center position of the object, and the distance is displayed on the distance display 15. Further, (W, D, H) indicating the size is the length of each side of the smallest rectangular parallelepiped containing the object, and is (lateral width, depth, height), respectively. The shape of the object can also be indicated by the above-described sizes (W, D, H), but other than that, data effective for indicating the shape is used as shape information. In the present embodiment, the upper end width Wu and the lower end width Wd of the object on the XY plane are used as the shape information.
[0031]
In the object recognition block 43, the relative speed (Vx, Vy, Vz) of the obstacle based on the vehicle position is obtained based on the temporal change of the center position of the object.
Further, the steering angle is calculated by the steering angle calculation block 49 based on the signal from the steering sensor 27, and the yaw rate is calculated by the yaw rate calculation block 51 based on the signal from the yaw rate sensor 28.
[0032]
In the curve radius (curvature radius) calculation block 63, the curve radius (curvature of the host vehicle traveling path is calculated based on the vehicle speed from the vehicle speed calculation block 47, the steering angle from the steering angle calculation block 49, and the yaw rate from the yaw rate calculation block 51. Radius) R is calculated. In the preceding vehicle determination block 53, the curve radius R and the recognition type obtained in the object recognition block 43, the center position coordinates (X, Y, Z), the size of the object (W, D, H), the relative speed ( The preceding vehicle is selected from (Vx, Vy, Vz), and its distance Z and relative speed Vz are obtained.
[0033]
Based on the distance Z and relative speed Vz from the preceding vehicle, the host vehicle speed Vn, the set state of the cruise control switch 26 and the depressed state of the brake switch 9, the inter-vehicle control unit and alarm determination unit block 55 uses the brake driver 19 In addition, a signal for adjusting the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle is output to the throttle driver 21 and the automatic transmission controller 23, and a necessary display signal is output to the distance indicator 15 to indicate the situation. To announce.
[0034]
Further, the inter-vehicle control unit and alarm determination unit block 55 includes the own vehicle speed, the front vehicle relative speed, the front vehicle acceleration, the object center position, the object width, the recognition type, the output of the brake switch 9, and the opening degree from the throttle opening sensor 11. Based on the sensitivity set value by the alarm sensitivity setting unit 25, it is determined whether or not to issue an alarm if the alarm is determined, and the content of the vehicle speed control is determined if the cruise is determined. As a result, if an alarm is required, an alarm generation signal is output to the alarm sound generator 13. If the cruise is determined, a control signal is output to the automatic transmission controller 23, the brake driver 19 and the throttle driver 21 to perform necessary control.
[0035]
Next, the operation | movement concerning the obstacle recognition performed in the vehicle control apparatus 1 comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated.
As shown in FIG. 4, the outline of the entire process of obstacle recognition is as follows. First, object recognition is performed (S10), followed by a preceding vehicle determination (S20), and finally roadside object exclusion is performed (S30). ), This process is terminated. In this case, the obstacle recognition is to recognize the preceding vehicle to be controlled when the inter-vehicle distance control is executed. Subsequently, detailed processing contents in S10 to S30 will be described.
[Object recognition processing in S10]
First, distance measurement processing is performed, and object recognition is performed based on the distance measurement data. The distance measurement processing is executed by the distance / two-direction measuring device 5, but as described above, a predetermined area in the XY plane shown in FIG. 3 is sequentially scanned. In this embodiment, the scan area is 0.15 deg × 105 points = 16 deg in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction) and 0.7 deg × 6 lines = 4 deg in the vertical direction (Y-axis direction). The scanning direction is from left to right in the horizontal direction and from top to bottom in the vertical direction. Therefore, scanning is performed in order from the upper left to the lower right, and 105 points per line is equivalent to 6 lines, so that a maximum of 630 points of data can be obtained.
[0036]
Since the data obtained by the distance / angle calculation unit 33 of the distance / two-direction measuring device 5 is composed of scan angles θx and θy indicating the scanning direction and the distance r measured, polar coordinates − The coordinate conversion block 41 between the orthogonal coordinates is converted into XYZ orthogonal coordinates with the vehicle as the origin (0, 0, 0) and is output to the object recognition block 43.
[0037]
In the object recognition block 43, based on the XYZ orthogonal coordinate data, the recognition type (moving object or stop object) of the front object, the center position coordinates (X, Y, Z), and the object size (W, D, H) ), Information on the shape of the object, and relative speeds (Vx, Vy, Vz) of the obstacle based on the vehicle position. The relative velocity (Vx, Vy, Vz) of the obstacle is obtained based on the temporal change of the center position (X, Y, Z) of the object. The recognition type can be recognized as a moving object when, for example, the relative position of the object has hardly moved despite the host vehicle traveling. Also, an object that gradually moves away can be recognized as a moving object. When the relative position of the object approaches the own vehicle at the same speed (absolute value) as the own vehicle speed, it can be recognized as a stopped object. The recognition type is determined from the vehicle speed V output from the vehicle speed calculation block 47 and the relative speed based on the detection value from the vehicle speed sensor 7.
[Advance vehicle determination process in S20]
In the preceding vehicle determination, first, the curve radius of the traveling path of the own vehicle is detected. This detection is performed by reading the curve radius R calculated by the curve radius calculation block 63. Next, based on the curve radius R, the probability that the obstacle is on the same lane as the vehicle is calculated. Based on the position on the XZ plane of each obstacle obtained by the object recognition process in S10 and the curve radius R, the probability that each obstacle exists on the own lane is calculated individually. Based on the calculated probability, an obstacle as a preceding vehicle to be subjected to the inter-vehicle distance control is selected.
[S30 roadside object exclusion process]
Even if it is determined that the vehicle is a preceding vehicle in the preceding vehicle determination in S20, the roadside object may be erroneously determined to be the preceding vehicle. In other words, even if an obstacle is considered to be a leading vehicle based on the probability that an obstacle exists on the own lane, road signs, overpasses, the road itself or white lines on the road, and even installations on the road such as the so-called cat's eye A situation that exists on the own lane occurs. Therefore, in the roadside object exclusion process in S30, it is accurately grasped that such a roadside object is a non-preceding vehicle, and a process of excluding it from the object of the preceding vehicle is performed.
[0038]
Specific roadside object exclusion processing will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 5, the roadside object exclusion routine executes a roadside object exclusion routine 1 in S100, and then executes a roadside object exclusion routine 2 in S200.
[0039]
First, the processing content of the “roadside object exclusion routine 1” in S100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
In the first step S110 of FIG. 6, it is determined whether or not the object is a stationary object. If it is determined that the object is not a stopped object, that is, a moving object (S110: NO), this routine is terminated without executing the processes after S120. As described above, the roadside object exclusion process in the present embodiment is that the roadside object is erroneously a preceding vehicle even if it is temporarily determined that the vehicle is a preceding vehicle in the preceding vehicle determination (S20 in FIG. 4). In view of the fact that the vehicle has been judged, the object is to accurately grasp that the roadside object is a non-preceding vehicle and exclude it from the preceding vehicle. Then, in consideration of the fact that the roadside object is erroneously determined to be the preceding vehicle in most cases, the stop object is determined to be the preceding vehicle. If it is an object (S110: YES), substantial roadside object exclusion after S120 is performed, but if it is a moving object (S110: NO), substantial roadside object exclusion after S120 is not executed. In addition, by doing so, there is no possibility that a traveling vehicle that is a moving object at a doorway on a slope is determined as a non-vehicle.
[0040]
Subsequently, description will be made from S120 which is determined to be a stopped object in S110 and shifts. In S120, it is determined whether or not the height of the center of the object is greater than 4.0 m. In S130, where a negative determination is made in S120, it is determined whether or not the height of the center of the object is approximately 0 m. . Then, if an affirmative determination is made in either S120 or S130, the process proceeds to S200, and it is determined whether or not the object to be determined is a preceding vehicle in S20 of FIG. If it is determined that the vehicle is a preceding vehicle (S200: YES), it is corrected as a non-preceding vehicle (S210), and this routine is terminated.
[0041]
The height of the object center to be determined in S120 and S130 is obtained based on the center position coordinates (X, Y, Z) obtained by the object recognition block 43 in FIG. And when the height of the center of the object is larger than 4.0 m or almost 0 m, it is considered that the object center does not exist in this region in a normal vehicle. It is. In other words, at present, the vehicle height of large trucks and semi-trailers is about 3.8 m, and the lower end of the vehicle body part is separated from the ground by several centimeters or more. It can be determined that the recognized obstacle is not a preceding vehicle.
[0042]
On the other hand, when the height of the center of the object is 4.0 m or less (S120: NO) and the height of the center of the object does not satisfy the condition of almost 0 m (S130: NO), the position in the height direction is temporarily This is an area where the vehicle may exist when the vehicle is considered as a reference. However, in the present embodiment, the processing is terminated only by that fact and the vehicle is not the preceding vehicle, and the height information of the same object recognized in the past is also referred to. That is, if it has been detected from one second ago (S140: YES), whether or not the height of the center of the object is greater than 4.0 m in S150 and S160, as in the above-described processing in S110 and S120. (S150), it is determined whether or not the center height of the object is substantially 0 m (S160). If an affirmative determination is made in either S150 or S160, the processes in S200 and S210 are also executed. That is, if the object to be determined is a preceding vehicle (S200: YES), it is corrected to be a non-preceding vehicle (S210).
[0043]
In the present embodiment, reference is also made to the height information of the same object recognized two seconds ago. That is, even if one second ago, the center height of the object is 4.0 m or less (S150: NO), and even if the center height of the object does not satisfy the condition of almost 0 m (S160: NO) Further, in S170 to S190, the same processing as S140 to S160 based on the object center height one second before described above is performed. In addition, even if it is the height of the center of the object recognized 2 seconds ago, when the height is only within the region where the vehicle may exist (S180: NO, S190: NO), this processing is performed. Exit.
[0044]
Next, the processing content of the “roadside object exclusion routine 2” in S300 of FIG. 5 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
In the first step S310 in FIG. 7, it is determined whether or not the object is a stationary object. If it is determined that the object is not a stopped object, that is, a moving object (S310: NO), this routine is terminated without executing the processes after S320. This is the same reason as in the case of the roadside object exclusion routine 1 in FIG. 4 described above. That is, it is first determined whether or not the object is a stopped object. If the object is a stopped object (S310: YES), substantial roadside objects are excluded after S320, but if it is a moving object (S310: NO), the object is intentionally after S320. No substantial roadside exclusion will be implemented. In addition, by doing so, it is possible to prevent the preceding vehicle being traveled from being erroneously set as a non-preceding vehicle.
[0045]
Subsequently, description will be made from S320 which is determined to be a stopped object in S310 and shifts to. In S320, it is determined whether or not the ratio (Wu / Wd) of the top width (upper width Wu) and the bottom width (lower width Wd) of the object on the XY plane is greater than 3. In S330, which is determined to be negative in S320, it is determined whether the aspect ratio, which is the ratio (H / W) of the height (H) to the width (W) of the object, is greater than 3. Further, in S340, where the determination is negative in S330, it is determined whether the width W is greater than 3.5 m.
[0046]
If an affirmative determination is made in any of S320, S330, and S340, the process proceeds to S350, and it is determined whether or not the object to be determined is a preceding vehicle in S20 of FIG. If it is determined that the vehicle is a preceding vehicle (S350: YES), it is corrected as a non-preceding vehicle (S360), and this routine is terminated.
[0047]
The above-described S320, S330, and S340 determine whether the shape does not exist in a normal vehicle. The purpose of each determination will be described.
First, when the ratio (Wu / Wd) of the upper end width Wu to the lower end width Wd of the object is larger than 3 in S320, the non-preceding vehicle is set for the following reason. For example, in a roadside type road sign as shown in FIG. 8 or a cantilever type (overhang type) road sign as shown in FIG. 9, a sign portion is provided at the upper end of the column. In many cases, the ratio of the upper and lower end widths (Wu / Wd) is larger than 3. On the contrary, it is a value that cannot be the width of the upper and lower ends of a normal vehicle. Thus, focusing on the upper / lower end width ratio (Wu / Wd), there is a normal vehicle shape that does not have much difference between the upper end width and the lower end width, and a so-called “heading” shape like a road sign. Are clearly distinguishable.
[0048]
Next, in S330, when the aspect ratio (H / W), which is the ratio of the height (H) to the width (W) of the object, is greater than 3, the non-preceding vehicle is set for the following reason. . For example, the sign portion of the road sign shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 often exists relatively above 2 m above the ground or larger than 3 m due to its role. However, the horizontal width is often not so large, and in that case, the aspect ratio, which is the ratio of height to width (H / W), is larger than 3. Further, for example, in the “reverse L type” as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B or the “F type” as shown in FIG. 9C, the sign portion protruding from the roadway is the roadway. In many cases, it exists relatively upwards, such as 5 meters from the ground, so as not to obstruct vehicles traveling on the road. Therefore, even if the width of the sign is 1 m, the aspect ratio (H / W) is 5, which is larger than 3. On the contrary, it becomes a value that cannot be an aspect ratio of a normal vehicle. Thus, it can be distinguished that the vehicle is other than the vehicle even if attention is paid to the aspect ratio (H / W).
[0049]
In consideration of the general road sign types shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, there are cases where both the above criteria (a) and (b) are applicable and cases where either one is applicable. Therefore, it is effective to select a non-preceding vehicle when either one of the two criteria is applicable as in this embodiment. For example, in the case of the “T type” as shown in FIGS. 9E and 9F, the aspect ratio (H / W) is close to 1, but in this case, the ratio of the upper and lower end widths (Wu / Wd) Since it is larger than 3, it can be appropriately determined that the vehicle is a non-preceding vehicle.
[0050]
As described above, the general road signs shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 can be appropriately determined as non-preceding vehicles based on the determination results in S320 and S330. In the present embodiment, however, S340 is further included. Judgment is made. That is, the reason why the non-preceding vehicle is used when the lateral width W is larger than 3.5 m is as follows.
[0051]
For example, in FIG. 10, there are a gate type (overhead type) as shown in (a) and (b), or an attachment type as shown in (c) as a slightly special sign installation method. In the case of a gate type (overhead type), a support is provided on the sidewalk on both sides across the roadway, and a sign is provided on the beam-like portion between them. Moreover, in the case of a follow-up type, for example, as shown in (c), a sign is arranged on the side of an overpass such as a pedestrian bridge. In such a case, the aspect ratio (H / W) is 1 or less. Also, in the case of the ratio of the upper and lower end widths (Wu / Wd), it is difficult to specify which part is the lower end width, and as a result, there is a possibility that both S320 and S330 will make a negative determination. Furthermore, in the case of the “T type” as shown in FIGS. 9E and 9F, if only the upper beam-like portion is recognized as an object, it cannot be excluded under the above two conditions.
Therefore, by comparing with the threshold value of the lateral width in S340, it is determined that the vehicle is not a preceding vehicle when the maximum width of the object shape is a value that does not exist in a normal vehicle. For example, in the case of the portal type as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B described above or the attachment type as shown in FIG. 10C, the maximum width W usually has a lateral width of one lane or more. It is larger than 5m. Therefore, paying attention to a point having a width of one lane or more, if the maximum width of the object shape is a value that does not exist in a normal vehicle, it is determined that the vehicle is not a preceding vehicle. In this way, more appropriate recognition is realized.
[0052]
As described above, in the vehicle control device 1 of the present embodiment, the preceding vehicle is determined based on whether or not there is an obstacle on the own lane in the obstacle recognition processing (S20 in FIG. 4), and thereafter Next, a roadside object exclusion process (S30 in FIG. 4) is performed. At this time, in the roadside object exclusion routine No. 1 shown in FIG. 6, it is assumed that the vehicle is a non-preceding vehicle on condition that “the position in the height direction is in a region that cannot be taken by a normal vehicle”. However, for example, when the vehicle is traveling in front of a downhill or near an exit on an uphill, an upper signboard or sign that is not detected on a flat road is detected in front of the vehicle. Originally, there is a possibility that a signboard, a sign, or the like existing in “an area higher than 4 m”, which is a specific example of the above-described exclusion condition, is erroneously recognized. In a situation where the front is further curved in addition to the situation of the slope, there is a possibility that a signboard, a sign or the like existing in the “region higher than 4 m” may be erroneously recognized. In addition, when the vehicle is traveling in front of the uphill or near the exit of the downhill, the road itself or a white line on the road, or the installation on the road, such as the so-called cat's eye, is present in the front. A situation occurs.
[0053]
As a contrivance for avoiding such misrecognition, as described above, referring to the position in the height direction one second before or two seconds ago, as a result, it is normal for two seconds before to the present. A vehicle is determined not to be a preceding vehicle if it exists at least once within a predetermined time in an area that cannot be taken by a vehicle.
[0054]
As described above, the conventional method of recognizing an obstacle two-dimensionally, that is, a relative position in the vehicle width direction and the vehicle length direction (the vehicle front-rear direction), has been described above because of the inherent limitation due to the two-dimensional recognition. Although it was not possible to distinguish and recognize non-preceding vehicles in the situation, this vehicle obstacle recognition device uses the point that obstacles can also be recognized in the height direction, and only instantaneous values are used. By not based on the recognition status within a predetermined period, it is possible to accurately distinguish and recognize an obstacle that is not a preceding vehicle.
[0055]
Then, after performing the roadside object exclusion process based on such height, the roadside object exclusion routine 2 shown in FIG. Do. Thus, not only the exclusion based on the height but also the exclusion based on the shape is executed, so that more appropriate recognition of the non-preceding vehicle and its exclusion can be realized.
[0056]
In the present embodiment, the distance / bidirectional measuring device 5 corresponds to a “radar means”, and a coordinate conversion block 41, an object recognition block 43, a preceding vehicle determination block 53, an inter-vehicle distance controller, and an alarm constituting the computer 3. The determination unit block 55 corresponds to “recognition means”. However, the coordinate conversion block 41 and the object recognition block 42 among them correspond to “obstacle height detection means”, “object shape detection means”, and “determination means for determining whether the object is a stationary object or a moving object”. Further, the inter-vehicle distance control unit and the alarm determination unit block 55 correspond to “a non-preceding vehicle determination unit based on height” and “a non-preceding vehicle determination unit based on shape”.
[0057]
As described above, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, in the above embodiment, the ratio is set to 3, but other numerical values may be used. In other words, this is not possible in a normal vehicle, but a numerical value corresponding to the target road sign may be set. Therefore, a numerical value such as 2.5 may be used.
[0058]
Further, in the above embodiment, in the roadside object exclusion routine 1 of FIG. 6, the height of the object center 2 seconds ago is 4.0 m or less (S180: NO), and the height of the object center 2 seconds ago. Is not satisfied (NO in S190), the processing routine is finished as it is. However, for example, a determination may be made based on data up to 3 seconds or 4 seconds before. However, if it is too long, it is expected that it will be difficult to catch it as the same object.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle control device to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of a computer of the vehicle control device.
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a scanning pattern of a distance / bidirectional measuring device.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of obstacle recognition processing executed by the vehicle control device.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an outline of roadside object exclusion processing in the obstacle recognition processing executed by the vehicle control device.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of a roadside object exclusion routine 1 among roadside object exclusion processes executed by the vehicle control device;
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of a roadside object exclusion routine part 2 of the roadside object exclusion process executed by the vehicle control device.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a road sign of a roadside installation method.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing an example of a road sign of a cantilever type (overhang type) installation method.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing an example of a road sign of a gate type (overhead type) and an installation type.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle control apparatus 3 ... Computer
5. Distance / two direction measuring instrument 7. Vehicle speed sensor
9 ... Brake switch 11 ... Throttle opening sensor
19 ... Brake drive 21 ... Throttle drive
23 ... Automatic transmission controller 27 ... Steering sensor
28 ... Yaw rate sensor 29 ... Power switch
31 ... Transmission / reception unit 33 ... Distance / angle calculation unit
41 ... Coordinate transformation block 43 ... Object recognition block
47 ... Vehicle speed calculation block 49 ... Steering angle calculation block
51 ... Yaw rate calculation block 53 ... Prior vehicle determination block
55. Vehicle distance control unit and alarm determination unit block
63 ... Curve radius calculation block 81 ... Measurement area
82 ... Output laser beam pattern

Claims (2)

A transmission wave is irradiated over a predetermined angle range in each of the vehicle width direction and the height direction, and a distance to the reflecting object and two angles of the vehicle width direction and the height direction are detected based on the reflected wave. Radar means;
Recognition means for recognizing obstacles around the vehicle based on the distance and the angle in the two directions, which are detection results by the radar means;
An obstacle recognition device for a vehicle comprising:
The recognition means is
Obstacle height detection means for detecting at least a position in the height direction of the obstacle based on the distance and the angle in the two directions as detection results by the radar means;
When the height direction position detected by the obstacle height detecting means is present at least once within a predetermined time in a region that cannot be taken by a normal vehicle, it is determined that the obstacle is not a vehicle. An obstacle recognition device for a vehicle, comprising: a non-vehicle determination unit using a height as a determination criterion. The obstacle recognition apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1 ,
The recognition means is
A determination means for detecting a moving state of the obstacle and determining whether the obstacle is a moving object;
The non-vehicle judging means based on the height or the non-vehicle judging means based on the shape is based on the height only when the judging means judges that the obstacle is a stop. The vehicle obstacle recognition device is configured to execute the non-vehicle determination process or the non-vehicle determination process based on the shape.

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